Image Courtesy: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp
A social media post falsely claims that Namibia president Hage Geingob is giving away 10GB of data to his supporters
This is another one of those obviously false claims or easy-to-spot scams.
The WhatsApp post, which was forwarded to Namibia Fact Check twice in mid to late November 2023, first made an appearance online and in WhatsApp groups after the launch of the ninth Hage Geingob Cup, which took place on 18 November 2023, at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek.
The post (image below) states:
“Hage Geingob IS GIVING 10GB FREE TO SUPPORTERS
We Have partnership with all network providers Give out 10GB Free Data and 2000 Namibien Dollar Airtime Voucher to supporters to celebrate and to rally online.
I just got mine get yours below
FOR MTC 4 tinyurl.com/hage-geingob
FOR MTN tinyurl.com/hage-geingob
FOR TN Mobile tinyurl.com/hage-geingob
For other networks tinyurl.com/hage-geingob”
Phishing Scam
This is an obvious attempt to steal people’s personal information, as the links in the post all connect to the same basic webpage, where viewers are required to provide their personal information in order to qualify for the fake data give-away. The webpage is not an official page of either the Namibian Presidency or the ruling Swapo Party.
On the webpage there is an image of president Hage Geingob, the Namibian flag, and the French text “Hage Geingob 10Go Internet Gratuitement a tous mes supporters”, which translates to “Hage Geingob 10GB Internet Free to all my supporters”.
The webpage to which Namibia Fact Check was directed was flagged as not secure by Chrome. This warning came with the suggestion that people not enter any sensitive or personal information on the page because it could be stolen by attackers. Chrome also suggested that the webpage not be used at all as something was wrong with the page’s privacy settings.